Westfield's Jackie Smith leading Hartford women's basketball into NCAA Division I tournament game against UConn women

Courtesy photo Steve McLaughlin PhotographyUniversity of Hartford senior guard Jackie Smith, of Westfield, is a major reason the Hawks are preparing to play No. 1 UConn in the opening round of the NCAA Division I tournament Sunday at Storrs.

“In my opinion, the most intriguing part of this game is the fact that we're playing a team we're very familiar with and get a chance to play one of the best teams in the country on the biggest stage there is,’’ Smith said.

Hartford, which is 0-11 against UConn all-time, is coached by former UConn All-American and National Player of the year Jen Rizzotti.

"If they go anywhere else in the tournament and win it's like, `Wow, that's huge,''' UConn coach Geno Auriemma told ctpost.com. "If they win here, that's right up there with landing on the moon for the Hartford kids. And, probably for our fans, they'll want to send me to the moon.''

The Republican file photoJackie Smith, shown during her high school playing days, was the all-time leading scorer at Holyoke when she graduated in 2007.

Smith, a former Holyoke High School standout, runs the point for Hartford. She has started all 32 games this season, has helped Hartford win 11 of its last 12 games.

The Hawks (17-15) enter as the No. 16 seed, a prize for earning an automatic bid as America East tournament champions.

"There really are no words to describe how amazing my experience has been here at Hartford,''Smith said. "I've been playing basketball for 17 years and to be able to end it winning a championship, and now with a chance to play UConn on national TV - I couldn't have planned it any better!

Smith scored 14 points and handed out five assists to help the Hawks upset conference No. 1 seed Boston University, 65-53, in the America East championship game last week.

“Looking back on those first two months knowing that we ended up as AE champs, it really is unbelievable,’’ said Smith, who is 5 feet 9.

Hartford was 2-10 at one point this season, a year after being ranked as high as No. 19 nationally in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and was 27-5 after it lost to LSU in the NCAA Tournament.

“We had a pretty frustrating start to our season,’’ said Smith, a preseason All-America East selection. “We struggled to figure out our own roles on the team since we were very young and inexperienced. Personally, I had trouble dealing with our losses and put a lot of stress on myself.’’

Smith graduated from Holyoke in 2007 as its all-time leader in scoring (1,040) and assists, and at Hartford is averaging six points and four assists.